ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026 to open in Tashkent on September 22

ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026 is set to begin in Tashkent on September 22

ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026 will run from September 22 to 25 at the CAEx center in Tashkent. This year’s edition will give particular attention to tech entrepreneurship, the venture capital market, and international scaling, gathering local and international founders, funds, business angels, representatives of global tech companies, and industry experts in one place.

The agenda will bring together several specialized events in which startup teams can present their projects, build new ties, and look into opportunities, while investors will have an early look at promising ventures and possible partners. For everyone involved, ICT Week is intended to serve as a center for networking and knowledge exchange.

The Startup & Venture Summit, the main event of the week for founders, investors and startup ecosystem players from around the world, will launch the program on September 22.

The discussions will center on the next phase of the region’s venture market: the expansion of local startups, fundraising, international scaling, and the roles of government and private investors in ecosystem development. Speakers will include founders of technology companies, representatives of venture funds, and heads of organizations working with innovative businesses.

The summit will establish the direction for ICT Week’s entire startup program, setting themes that will continue through the following days.

On September 23, the Enterprise Uzbekistan Summit will look at Uzbekistan’s progress as an emerging jurisdiction for technology business, with emphasis on legal certainty, institutional infrastructure, and the conditions required to attract international tech companies and investment.

The program features remarks from Enterprise Uzbekistan representatives, keynote speeches from EY and BDO, a fireside chat with IT Park Uzbekistan and Enterprise Uzbekistan, and a panel discussion called "Rethinking Jurisdictions for the Global Technology Economy."

Participants will discuss why international companies are selecting Uzbekistan, how responsibilities are shared among key ecosystem institutions, and what regulatory conditions are necessary to support growth in the tech economy.

Also on September 23, StartupBlink and IT Park Uzbekistan will co-host the Global Startup Ecosystem Awards, honoring cities, countries and regions that have performed well in StartupBlink's global rankings.

The awards ceremony will be followed by a panel discussion, "Best Practices in Startup Ecosystem Development," where representatives from leading ecosystems will talk about growth drivers, resource allocation priorities, and practices that emerging tech markets can adopt.

One of the week’s headline events, the regional final of the Startup World Cup, will be held on September 24.

Leading startups will give live pitches before an international jury and venture partners. The regional winner will move on to the global Startup World Cup final in San Francisco, where finalists from around the world will compete for a $1 million investment prize.

For the participating startups, the regional round offers more than a chance to reach the global final — it is also an opportunity to test their pitch before international experts, get feedback, and present their product to the venture community.

Also on September 24, AI Native: Ideas to Innovation will gather teams and specialists working in artificial intelligence.

The program will concentrate on turning AI concepts into working technology and business products, covering large language models, cloud technology, multilingual AI, robotics, AI agents, and business automation. Special attention will go to opportunities for young professionals, including AI education, hackathons, and career paths.

For AI startups, the event provides a view of which technology areas are moving from experimentation to real, commercially viable products.

AWS Community Day Uzbekistan, centered on AWS technologies, cloud solutions and broader tech trends, will take place on September 25.

The topic is especially relevant for growth-stage tech teams: as user bases grow, startups must deal with infrastructure, performance, reliability and scaling challenges. AWS Community Day will add a more technical perspective on company growth to ICT Week’s investment-focused programming.

Also on September 25, the Ignyte AI Challenge will give ICT Week attendees the chance to watch startup teams pitch their AI solutions to international experts — an opportunity to see promising projects, follow emerging AI products, and hear founders present to a professional audience.

The startup program will conclude on September 25 with TAQDIMOT (Startup Show & Pitch Battle), featuring short presentations and a pitch battle highlighting promising tech projects. For startups, it is a final chance to present their product to a broad professional audience and test how clearly their team can communicate its value proposition.

TAQDIMOT will act as the closing startup-focused event of ICT Week’s four-day program.

Startups and venture investment are only one part of ICT Week. The wider program also includes the AI Forum, Fintech Forum, Tech & Service Outsourcing Conference, Uzbek-Japan Digital Community Forum, OTS Technology Forum, GameGap: GameDev Conference, Sabriya: Women in Digital Economy, and the Uzbekistan-Middle East Tech Summit.

Overall, the program covers entrepreneurship and investment as well as artificial intelligence, fintech, enterprise technology, cloud infrastructure, outsourcing, game development, and international tech cooperation.